The Thai government will urgently introduce a bill to ban the recreational use of cannabis, the health minister said, after the kingdom decriminalizes the drug in 2022, AFP reported.
Cannabis was delisted in June 2022 under the previous government, which included the pro-legalization Bhumjaytai Party.
The move has prompted hundreds of cannabis outlets to spring up across the country, particularly in Bangkok, alarming critics who have called for tougher legislation.
The kingdom's health minister said the new bill - which bans the recreational use of cannabis - will be proposed at a cabinet meeting next week.
"The new bill will be amended from the existing one to allow the use of cannabis only for health and medical purposes," Chonlanan Srikau told reporters.
"Use for entertainment is considered improper."
Prime Minister Sreeta Thavisin, who took office in August last year, has often spoken out against recreational use of the drug and said it should only be allowed for medical purposes.
There was renewed public pressure last weekend after concert-goers of British rock band Coldplay in Bangkok complained on social media that "the whole concert smelled like marijuana". /BGNES
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